Republicans' lapse on security

6:21 PM,
Oct. 12, 2012

Written by

Dana Milbank
Dana Milbank

When House Republicans called a hearing in the middle of their long recess, you knew it would be something big: They accidentally blew the CIA's cover.

The purpose of Wednesday's hearing of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee was to examine security lapses that led to the killing in Benghazi last month of the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three others. But in doing so, the lawmakers reminded us why "congressional intelligence" is an oxymoron.

Through their outbursts and boneheaded questioning of State Department officials, the committee left little doubt that one of the two ...